Drowners were an American-Welsh

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band formed in New York City in 2011 by Matthew Hitt (

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

), Jack Ridley III (

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

), Erik Lee Snyder (bass) and Daniel Jacobs (

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s)."Clash Interview"
Joe Zadeh, 'OTW #487: Drowners Revamped Brit Pop Garage', ''Clash Magazine'', March 20, 2013. Their first release was the EP ''Between Us Girls'' which appeared in early 2013. In January 2014 their debut album ''Drowners'' was released worldwide preceded by the single "Luv, Hold Me Down". In 2016, the band released their second album ''On Desire''. The band has toured both North America and Europe.

History

The band was formed when Welsh-born Matthew Hitt moved to New York City in 2011 to pursue a career in modelling. With a degree in English Literature, he found time to "write and jam on isguitar every day". He recruited three musicians and began rehearsing and recording the songs. Guitarist Jack Ridley is originally from the North West of the US while bass player Erik Snyder grew up outside Philadelphia. On February 4, 2013, Drowners released their first EP ''Between Us Girls'' on the English label Birthday Records. The EP contains three short songs, including "Long Hair", oft cited as the lead track. The band signed with a

Frenchkiss Records Frenchkiss Records is an independent record label based in New York City. The label was started in 1999 by Syd Butler, bassist and founder of Les Savy Fav. The label's first purpose was to release Les Savy Fav's second album ''The Cat and The Cob ...

, and began to record their first studio album in May 2013. The album was produced by Gus Oberg and Johnny T, while recording took place over a three-week period. It received mixed reviews. The band headed to Europe for the first time in February 2014 in support of their album, to perform a small number of London shows (including an in-store performance at Rough Trade East), and supported Cage The Elephant on their European tour and SKATERS on their UK tour. The band enlisted several drummers, including Joe Brodie, before settling on Daniel Jacobs. The band opened shows for

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. They comprise lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, guitarist Jamie Cook and bassist Nick O'Malley. The co-founder and original bassist Andy Nicholson ...

The Vaccines The Vaccines are an English indie rock band, formed in West London in 2010 by Justin Hayward-Young and Freddie Cowan. The band currently consists of Young (lead vocals, guitars), Árni Árnason (bass, vocals), Timothy Lanham (guitars, keys, ...

and

Foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...

while undertaking their first headlining tour of North America and Europe in February/March 2014."2014 tour"
SongKick 2014 tour listings They later performed at the

Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...

festival and supported

Temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

. After two months of recording, the band had finalised their second album by Christmas 2015. In June 2016, the band released the album ''On Desire'' to mixed reviews. It was produced by Claudius Mitterndorfer and preceded by the single "Cruel Ways". In October 2019, Drowners returned to perform as part of FKR20, a musical event celebrating the 20th anniversary of Frenchkiss Records. The band have since not reunited as of December 2024.

Discography

Studio albums

EP

* ''Between Us Girls'' (February 4, 2013, Birthday Records)

References

External links

*
Drowners bio in FrenchKiss Records
{{Authority control Alternative rock groups from New York (state) Indie rock musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 2011 Frenchkiss Records artists 2011 establishments in New York City